Car companies offer roadside assistance packages. So do insurance companies and organizations like AAA. But who really comes to help when your car breaks down?

Who comes to the rescue when your car breaks down? Most drivers have some form of roadside assistance coverage, through a car manufacturer, a car insurance company, or the American Automobile Association (AAA). Surprisingly, though, the same tow truck could come to help someone covered by any of these polices.

That's because car manufacturers and insurance companies typically buy roadside assistance programs from third-party companies. These third-party companies buy contracts from individual towing companies across the country and then act as one-stop shops for companies looking for roadside assistance programs for their customers.

Agero—formerly the Cross Country Automotive Group—is such a company. It has contracts with towing companies all across America, which allows it to negotiate lower rates. Agero is the biggest roadside assistance provider in the industry—90 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the United States are covered by a rebranded Agero roadside assistance service. GM, Ford and Lincoln, Mazda, Toyota, Chrysler, USAA, and Progressive all use Agero to provide roadside assistance to their customers.

For example, a Ford car sold today has five-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance coverage. Ford buys the contract from Agero and bundles it into the purchase price of the car. Agero then pays local towing companies to do the actual labor: mounting spares in the case of a flat tire, jump-starting or unlocking the vehicle (though they do not cover the cost of making keys), bringing 2 to 5 gallons of fuel for free, and towing a disabled vehicle up to 35 miles to the nearest qualified Lincoln or Ford dealership. The customer need interact only with Ford.

But even though the same truck might be coming to get you no matter what, it matters which assistance package you have. (Think of the truck that comes to save you like a hospital; it tailors its service based on what your insurance/roadside assistance package covers.) Progressive Insurance also augments some of their insurance policies with Agero's roadside assistance, but the benefits are slightly different from those of Ford's. A tow truck will take a disabled vehicle anywhere within a 15-mile radius or to the nearest qualified repair facility, or bring gas or fluids—which the customer pays for—to get the car back on the road. The jump start, flat tire, and locksmith services are identical to the corresponding Ford services.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Agero is not the only roadside assistance provider. Allstate and Geico will skip the middleman and deal directly with towing companies to create their own roadside assistance plans. Allstate provides the roadside assistance programs for car companies including Mercedes, BMW, and Rolls-Royce, and rental agencies Avis and Budget. It also offers their better-known annual Motor Club and Good Hands roadside assistance programs, which are sold directly to consumers. The Good Hands program allows anyone—even those without an Allstate policy—to pay $75 for a tow or $50 for "most other roadside services." Geico also deals directly with the towing companies, but their roadside assistance is available only to Geico policyholders.

Then there's AAA, probably the most famous provider of roadside assistance. AAA is a group of more than 50 independently operated motor clubs with a total membership of 52 million. Each motor club works with local towing companies to provide roadside assistance with its members, and has a reciprocal agreement with every other motor club. Some AAA clubs cover metro areas with their own tow trucks and use private towing companies to cover the rest of the area they handle.

There is another way to get help: Call the police. Many roadside assistance plans will also reimburse towing expenses, and the police can often summon a local tow truck faster than someone at a call center could.

With any roadside assistance policy, it is worth reading the towing details to make sure they will tow you to the destination of your choice—whether that is to your house, a mechanic, or an authorized dealer. (Check out our story about choosing the right package.) From there, it might not really matter. It may well be the same truck that comes to the rescue, no matter which provider you chose.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media
Popular Mechanics participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.